Tuesday, 30 October 2012

Lagos boat tragedy: One more body recovered

UNCERTAINTY has continued to trail the casualty figure of Sunday's boat accident in Lagos, just as one more body has been recovered by men of the Lagos State Emergency Management  Agency (LASEMA) and local divers .

Authorities of Oto/Awori  Local Council Development Area had  blamed the purportedly high casualty figure of the incident on the refusal of residents of communities in the area to wear life jackets when on board. 

The council had,  therefore, commenced  plans to enforce the use of life jackets by passengers of canoes in all communities in the area.

Ten passengers of an  Imude-bound canoe were on Sunday morning reportedly drowned as the canoe  ferrying them from Ido Oluwo capsized.

Five bodies of the drowned persons were on Sunday evening recovered by a combined team of LASEMA officials and local divers.  

The  chairman of the council, Kayode Robert, while speaking on the incident on Monday, said that, "one more body has been recovered, bringing the total to six."

He blamed the incident on the  effect of the wave  generated by  a flying boat carrying workers of a construction company.

He further said that the council would provide more life jackets to residents of communities in the riverine area and make efforts to ensure that the jackets were used when on board.

The council chairman also blamed the passengers  of the boat for not using their life jackets which, according to him, would have reduced the casualty figure.

On the casualty figure,  he said,  "nobody  really knows the actual figure. Nobody can say  whether the remaining  bodies are up to five or more than that."

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